I’m getting ready to build benchwork for my indoor staging and test loop, and need some advice on what to put under the track. I’m planning to use regular plywood unless there is a better option (OSB, etc.). Do people use cork or something similar under the track? My only experience is N scale, where I’ve used cork.
My track will all be SVRR code 250 brass.
Most of the indoor layouts I’ve visited just use the plywood. With sound systems and metal wheels on metal track, I don’t know what all you gain by adding cork under the track. Just MHO…(https://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-wink.gif)(https://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-cool.gif)
On all my indoor trackage, I used HO roadbed with 4 strips of roadbed under the #1 track. 2 pieces laid as it comes out of the box and then a strip along each side to give the profile. Worked great! Ken has seen it, but never noticed it under the ballast. The Timesaver has just cork sheeting laid under the whole yard.
On my indoor freight yard, which is the bottom level of the indoor layout, I used 1/4 inch foam insulation stuff… Bought it at Lowe’s, or Home Depot… It comes accordion style… I sprayed it a dark grey, and just stapled it to the plywood base… Did that, just to deaden the sound of engines and freight cars running on bare plywood…
Back in my HO days I used homasote instead of plywood on the top of my benches. It is a paper type product so no good for damp areas but I found it to be better then plywood to deaden the sound.
It will need a bit more support then conventional plywood.
You could use it as your bench top or it is it easy to cut to fit directly under your track.
Andy Clarke said:
On my indoor freight yard, which is the bottom level of the indoor layout, I used 1/4 inch foam insulation stuff…
All the times I’ve been down there, I never noticed that. I stand corrected…(https://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-wink.gif)
I would use 1/2" or 3/4" plywood as the base and add the insulation if you want a real quite RR of not. You might want to paint the plywood before adding the track. Use LITTLE flat head wood screws to hold it all in place. Tacoma Screw is one source of the screws. If you want to you can power the track and install powered ‘turnouts’.
Paul
Thanks for all the advice. It’s funny to see Homasote recommended. My day job is consulting in acoustics, and Homasote is kind of a joke among acoustics professionals. Maybe this is the one thing it’s actually useful for!
I used 2 inch foam, with cork roadbed glued to it, for my 0 gauge layout. Plywood will pick up and amplify the vibrations of the track, especially if the track is screwed to the plywood.
I tried foam underlayment but the noise from metal wheels on metal track is still going to be there
I’m not terribly worried about noise, since this is a staging yard, and the layout will largely be outdoors. Is there any benefit to cork from a functional standpoint - e.g. evening out imperfections in the track/plywood/transitions? I found rolls of cork for pretty cheap (compared to everything else at this scale, anyway), so I may just put it down in the yard anyway.
Eric Reuter said:
I’m not terribly worried about noise, since this is a staging yard, and the layout will largely be outdoors. Is there any benefit to cork from a functional standpoint - e.g. evening out imperfections in the track/plywood/transitions? I found rolls of cork for pretty cheap (compared to everything else at this scale, anyway), so I may just put it down in the yard anyway.
I missed the part about it being a staging/test track. That being the case, there’s no benefit even to cork, unless you want to dress it up, a bit. Attention to detail will prevent uneveness at the plywood/OSB joints. 3/4" is probably not necessary. Save some bucks and use 3/8".
You can save even more money using wood strips for rails, instead of expensive SVRR track, in the staging/storage area. Marty developed this idea for his staging area.
My railroad is all indoors and this approach might be a bit too much effort and expense for your use.
My benchwork is a sort of modified L-girder and the base of the roadbed is laminated Masonite hardboard splines with Flexxbed glued to it with vinyl coving adhesive. The SVRR track is then nailed through the nailing holes just enough to secure it. There will be ballast of some kind eventually once I start doing scenery.
I’m kind of ambivalent about Flexxbed. It works okay, but I guess that I was expecting it to be quieter considering the density of the splines and the minimal “coupling” of the track through the Flexxbed. It was also a bit difficult to smoothly bend on the 8’ diameter curves and to hold in place until the adhesive set; needed a lot of clamps and weights.
I decided to stay away from cork as, when I used to do HO in my younger days, it would tend to dry out and get a bit crumbly. I used Atlas back then, perhaps the binders that held it together have since improved.
Eric Reuter said:
Thanks for all the advice. It’s funny to see Homasote recommended. My day job is consulting in acoustics, and Homasote is kind of a joke among acoustics professionals. Maybe this is the one thing it’s actually useful for!
On my HO module I used foam insulation and cut my own roadbed from Homasote. I used Homasote to deaden the sound, and because I was hand laying my own track. The Homasote holds spikes better then the foam roadbed my club uses, and probably even a bit better then cork would hold them.
Large panels of plywood will amply the sound of trains running on them, like a guitar body amplifies the sound of the strings. Yes, metal wheels will clickty clack, but that’s not the same as the rumble that you can hear from track on bare plywood.
i use either plywood (about half an inch thick) or plywood with a half or a quarter inch of styropor upon it.
for ballast i use pool filtersand. or cat litter. but the latter is too big for my taste.
on ply:
http://www.largescalecentral.com/forums/topic/25035/southern-amp-gulf-unstoppable-progress
on styropor:
http://www.largescalecentral.com/forums/topic/17297/under-pressure/view/page/1
Eric Reuter said:
Is there any benefit to cork from a functional standpoint - e.g. evening out imperfections in the track/plywood/transitions?
Nope …not in my opinion if it matters. So I agree with Steve on that.
Eric,
For my indoor staging/storage area I just used indoor/outdoor carpet held in place with double sided carpet tape.
A couple pictures.
Here the benchtop is complete and ready for the carpet ( seen rolled up and laying on top). These benchtops are cabinet grade MDF with finish, only because I got a super buy on the material, normally I would just use OSB for a carpet covered top. Lesser grades of plywood are subject to having internal voids that seem to occur just where you want to fasten something.
With the carpet installed, not a real closeup view but gives you the idea. The carpet helps deaden the “drum” effect of bare wood and provides a neat finish.
Have a ball with your project and keep us in the loop.
Rick
Wow! That’s very nice!
Nice man-cave!!..(https://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-wink.gif)(https://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-cool.gif)
In one of my railroad’s first indoor incarnations I experimented with 3/4" pink foam insulation for roadbed. It worked well for sound deadening but cutting curves turned out to be more work than I was willing to do. I ended up directly on plywood. The wheel noise is significant but it doesn’t bother me.
@ Rick - That looks fantastic, but it’s too clean (https://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-surprised.gif)
